MLB Wants to Split ESPN’s Rights Between Multiple Companies

As anticipation continues to rise over MLB’s plans for national media rights after its high-profile divorce from ESPN, the answer emerging is that the league will likely opt for multiple partners to take that inventory. 

Rather than a single rights holder coming in to take on the rights being forfeited by the Disney-owned network, MLB is increasingly looking at breaking up those rights into several parts. Among the potential outcomes:

• A new broadcaster for the Home Run Derby, with Fox and Netflix among those said to be interested.
• A network-based home for Sunday Night Baseball, for decades a signature showcase for MLB. NBC Sports already has a dominant property with Sunday Night Football and plans to put big NBA games in that same time slot after the NFL wraps up each season. Extending that concept to baseball and potentially creating a year-round stranglehold on that time slot is intriguing to the Comcast-owned network. 
• The wild-card round that’s exclusively been on ESPN is fetching interest from multiple entities, both in linear TV and streaming. 

Much of this consideration, however, is an interim one as MLB is looking to overhaul its entire national and local media strategy and offer combined sets of rights in 2028 when its other national-rights deals expire. 

The crucial question is whether this strategy will yield a collective sum greater than the prior whole—one worth $550 million per year in the deal with ESPN now expiring after the 2025 season. Within MLB and the teams, however, there is optimism that can happen, particularly after the league both ended the 2024 season and began the 2025 one with strong viewership growth.

“I think the market is going to be surprised at the enthusiasm and uptake on these sets of rights that are becoming available for next year,” Braves chairman Terry McGuirk said last month. “I know that the interest is very strong, and I’m sure you’ll hear more from [commissioner] Rob Manfred on this in the coming weeks.”

Fox has already shown openness to expanding its already extensive MLB portfolio, with network COO John Nallen saying the league “has been a great product for us.” Most recently, NBC Sports president of acquisitions and partnerships Jon Miller conveyed a similar sentiment at a SportsPro conference, saying the network is “kicking the tires” on MLB.

“There’s so much great product out there with so many terrific athletes, so many compelling stories, great ownership, great markets, and so I’m excited for the future of baseball. I think it’s a very positive outlook for them,” Miller said.

Back in Bristol

Industry sources describe the tense attitude between MLB and ESPN as the equivalent of middle-aged spouses getting divorced after a long marriage. Both sides are lawyered up and don’t want to compromise. ESPN, however, is holding out an olive branch and is willing to come back to the negotiating table—albeit still at a lower price. MLB thus far has spurned those overtures and is looking for new partners. There remains some sense, however, that a reunion is not impossible. 

“Here’s hope both sides come to their senses—and hash this out,” says one source. “It’s time for a compromise.”